Those of you who are regulars to this blog know that I written a few posts about the Festa di Madonna Di Montevergine and you may even remember that it’s held at the St Francis of Assisi Church at Newton in south Australia. I don’t believe I’ve actually ever posted a photo of the church itself, if anything apart from mentioning the Festa the only photo of the church is to one I took of the statue at the front of the church of Jesus and St Francis.

It pains me that I still have not posted a photo of the church,for which I apologize, but I do have some nice photos of a few of the religious icons that are in the church. I assume that the guy slaying the dragon is a Saint, being in the church and all but I didn’t get the chance to see who it was.

As for the next photo the statues represents St. Francis and St. Clare.

St. Francis and St. Clare

Then we have one that I particularly like.

You can almost see the sadness on Mary’s face as she cradles the dead body of her son Jesus in her arms. As for the next photo, its only on display during the Festa Di Madonna Di Montevergine.

During the Festival the Madonna is carried by four people via two poles inserted in the base from the Hectorville Church to this one. You may notice a ribbon draped on the side, that is so those who wish to can pin money to it in honor of the Madonna. For those of you who are interested this is a video of some of 2011’s Festa highlights.

On the way back from the Barossa we were passing through Rowland Flat just west of Tanunda when I had to pull over to take a photo of this church. The reason I pulled over is because I liked the look of the church and I thought the readers of this blog would appreciate it as well.

It’s the Trinity Lutheran Church and was built in 1956 replacing the original one of 1867. Personally I think they did a great job of retaining the view of the times, even though that may not have been their intention.

The church really is in a picturesque setting. It may not have the same quality as those basking in the sun during their st lucia holidays but it does have a charm all of its own. Standing in front of this lovely church you are presented with a breathtaking view of vineyards, serenity and all that you have become accustomed to while visiting the Barossa.

A few things you may not know about Rowland Flat.

Its the winemaking centre for the giant Orlando wine group, the oldest winery in the Barossa Valley. Must make a point of stopping by there and trialling their restaurant and interactive winemaking display next time I’m driving through.

Its close to Jacobs Creek which also happens to be the one of our favourite wine labels. It was Johann Gramp who planted the first commercial vines at nearby Jacob’s Creek in 1847, and forty years later his son expanded the winery and moved its current location which happens to be in, you guessed it, Rowland Flat.

Honestly, there is so much to see in the Barossa that I reckon the family and I will have to take a long weekend break there first chance we get.

You may remember my post Of Flying Saucers, Rats And Ned Kelly, Scenic Sights Of Adelaide where I showed you some really cool sculptures that I came across on the way to Port Hughes, well one of the small towns I passed through was Moonta. I actually stopped there to buy some cakes to have with coffee when meeting up with our friends over at Port Hughes. If only I had known they were famous for their cornish pasties I would have bought a couple of those as well.

Moonta happens to be one of the three towns known as The Copper Triangle, the other two being Kadina and Wallarroo. Although it’s some 165 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide it’s well worth the trip if you like checking out old towns. While there I had a quick look at the hardware store which was also the local antique store which had a lot of unique stuff I’d never seen before. It also had your normal range of antiques. I sure wish I knew more about antiques as I’m sure they would have some stuff there that might have been worth a little cash.

While there I did manage to take a couple of photos. This first one is of the Uniting Church which is at 88 Bay Rd. As you can see from the photo it’s got a real gothic appearance. Apparently it used to be a Methodist church and was built around 1873.

Another building of note is the Town Hall which also doubles as their theatre.

Looks cool doesn’t it? This building was built in 1885 and the clock tower and clock were added in 1907.